Spanish Language Professor Marshall Schneider
Bill was a computer science major and a mathematics minor who took several advanced Spanish-language courses in what was then called the Department of Romance Languages (now the Department of Modern Languages and Comparative Literature). The alumnus took Schneider’s Spanish 4010 Advanced Composition class in 1983.
“An unsung personal hero of mine, Dr. Schneider was, without a doubt, one of the greatest professors I ever had the distinct pleasure and honor of knowing. His classroom was his palace, a place where I always felt inspired, where the comfort zone for the creative process could always be found. A perfectionist in a very good way, he was certainly not shy in telling you where a new paragraph should begin—and where one should end.
“I never missed any of his classes, and he always read each and every one of my compositions . . . with great interest in front of the entire class. Also, I never had any doubts that he had a big hand in my getting a job at Baruch as the language lab director for the Romance languages department. Had it not been for Professor Schneider’s keen interest in my writing, I very seriously doubt that I would have had the courage to embark on the two journeys now known as Nothing Missed, Everything Gained and Nothing Missed, Everything Gained Volume II.”
“Rest in peace, maestro.”
Note: The above tribute was taken from the dedication to Guzmán’s revised version of Nothing Missed, Everything Gained Volume II (BMG Press, 2012). Says the author, “I decided to rededicate Volume II entirely to Professor Schneider because he truly deserves it.” Some of Guzmán’s classroom assignments from Schneider’s classes appear in these volumes, together with another piece that Guzmán wrote for Professor Casanova’s class, another of the author’s favorite faculty members.
“Baruch College transformed my life in so many ways for the better, and Dr. Schneider was a major catalyst,” says Guzmán. “He couldn’t have shined as he did, in my humble opinion, without the influence and encouragement of the other great professors he interacted with, his colleagues.”
About the Alumnus
Bill Guzmán is currently a licensed insurance agent for the state of North Carolina, where he has lived for more than 20 years. Since 2000, Guzmán has been self-employed, following a long and successful career as an IT professional. In 2009 he dedicated himself to fulfilling his long-held ambition of creating a collection of short stories and poems and is now the proud author of two volumes.
About Marshall Schneider
Modern Languages and Comparative Literature Professor and Chairman Marshall Schneider taught at Baruch College from 1967 to 2001. He died in April 2001 at the age of 58. Says current Department of Modern Languages and Comparative Literature Chair Elena Martinez, “A distinguished scholar of Spanish literature, Marshall Schneider was an excellent teacher and one of the most generous and committed members of our community.”